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mmThe issue of contraception was never credibly debated because many of the movement’s founders were evangelical Protestants who held that the issue had already been ‘settled,’ in spite of the historic Christian traditions to the contrary.

I believe this to be true. It has never been fully examined. However, the quixotic comprehensive "culture of life" has never been fully examined. If it had been examined and studied, it would be widely publicised that a comprehensive "culture of life" has NEVER existed on the planet Earth at any time in history. Just a few examples:

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not unilaterally demonized women who are pregnant, but not married.

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not stigmatize children born out of wedlock as "bastards" and illegitimate (how can a human being, in God's likeness, be "illegitimate"?). It would not have singled out these children of God for discrimination and public shame.

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not support the law-of-the-jungle mentality in financial and resource distribution. (Laws of the jungle dictate that the weak must be sacrificed for the survival of the strong.)

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not advocate, aid and abet father abandonment of offspring, such as the children born of unions during wartime excursions in foreign lands (as has been the US policy in Asia and before that the policy of all European empirical excursions).

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not hide, aid and abet rapists and child rapists among its heirarchy. ___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not allow millions of mostly women and children to starve in poor coutries while selling arms for profit to spread more misery and internal strife in poor areas.

___A comprehensive "culture of life" would not have supported slavery and near slavery, nor would it have supported race and gender apartheid in education and economic opportunities.

In short, to single out contraception without looking at all the cultural instetutions we have supported and continue to support which are not anything near to supporting the concept of the value of every human life, is shortsighted and hypocritical. There is much we have not fully and credibly debated.